A repeat will be tricky. BHP’s fortunes still mostly rely on a factor it can’t control—commodity prices.

Light is suddenly flooding the mine shaft at BHP. The world’s biggest miner declared a record final dividend Tuesday, after its underlying earnings jumped by a third for the year ended in June. Investors can expect another handsome payday soon: BHP has pledged to return roughly $10 billion to them after completing the sale of its troublesome U.S. shale assets.